The Minnesota Vikings‘ OTA sessions early on have been very interesting in terms of the progress being made from them. It helps that every member of the team, who is healthy, has been present, so the camaraderie the team has from 2024 is clearly present from the clips we have seen.
Craig Peters, Senior Editor for Vikings.com, wrote about some observations from training. He included some things he noticed with the way they filled in the offensive line due to injuries.
Peters writes, “New center Ryan Kelly manned the pivot and was joined on his left by first-round pick Donovan Jackson. Blake Brandel, who started at left guard in 2024, moved to right guard, where free agent addition Will Fries is projected to start. Fries is on the mend from a broken leg he suffered last season. It was no surprise that Brian O’Neill manned the right tackle spot, but instead of Christian Darrisaw, who is recovering from a knee injury in Week 8 last season, it was veteran newcomer Justin Skule at left tackle for the first grouping of offensive linemen.”
While this obviously won’t be the ideal lineup come September, it does speak to something that was once a concern for the Vikings: depth.
The Vikings’ offensive line depth was once an issue for them, but adding Justin Skule and having Blake Brandel in their back pocket all help on that front. While some suggest they might be moving on from Brandel, perhaps this reminds them why it is so lovely to have him around as a backup piece in case an injury occurs.